The Calm Before the Storm
by McSatan
Summary: The Normandy is docked at the Citadel for repairs and the crew takes a well deserved break. Femshep/Miranda eventually.


Note: This is before the Normandy crew gets kidnapped. Title may change.

xxx

Well at least the crew would get some R and R, they sure as hell needed it.

Garrus had suggested they do some major overhauls to the Normandy SR-2's weapons system before they go anywhere near the Omega 4 relay. EDI had also suggested other upgrades, mainly to the kinetic barriers. It was hard for Charlie Shepard to disagree, they needed everything they could get, so they had landed on the Citadel as soon as they got the chance. It would take an upwards of a few days to a week for the upgrades to be fully integrated into the Normandy. Time was of the essence but there was no way Shepard was going to have a repeat of the previous Normandy, so the time spent here was an investment for later.

The crew had been pretty excited to get some down time, at least most of the crew was. Shepard called everybody to the conference room just as the Normandy docked at the Citadel. "For once, I am the bearer of relatively good news. The Normandy will be docked here for at least a couple of days, maybe even longer. While she's getting upgraded I'm authorizing everyone a shore leave. Anyone who wants to can get off this ship, at least for a few days." The room lit up. She knew most of the crew had been feeling antsy and high strung lately, it was definitely a welcome break.

Before she could go any further Miranda interrupted, "Shepard, do you really think that's a good idea? We really should be focusing on the mission."

"Oh shut the hell up Cheerleader. Nobody asked you. I think it's a great idea Shepard. We could ALL use to blow off some steam," Jack sneered.

"I agree. You guys deserve a break from all this Collector business. Go crazy, but so help me if I have to get any one of you out of trouble," Shepard said looking directly at Jack, "You'll wish that the Collectors got to you first, hell it's my vacation too." There were a few snickers around the room; Jack just rolled her eyes.

"In the same vein, you guys have saved my ass more than a few times, so all drinks on me tonight." There were a few cheers around the room.

Jack laughed, "Hope your pockets run deep Shepard. It's gonna take a lot more than a few drinks till I'm done."

"Oh trust me I could out drink all of you," the redhead stated a matter of factly.

"Sounds like you're going to get yourself in trouble Commander," Garrus smirked.

"Just a fact Garrus. You'll just have to come tonight to see if anyone is up for the challenge."

Jacob stood up, "I'll take that challenge."

"See you tonight Taylor, hope you're ready," Shepard grinned. "You all are dismissed."

xxx

By the time Charlie Shepard was ready to get off the Normandy, after a few errands had been completed, most of the crew had already left. Off a whim and a slight hunch the biotic hit the elevator key for the crew deck. It was quiet as a great deal of the staff had gone on shore leave. The ship normally felt high strung, nervous, worried but now that the ship's inhabitants had gone it was quiet. Shepard found it peaceful.

It was quite obvious for Shepard to figure out that Miranda was not going to these few days as a chance to relax, a vacation from the Reapers and Collectors. Upon entering Miranda's office she could see Cerberus officer working away at her terminal. After giving no indication of noticing that Shepard was in the room, the commander plopped down in plush black chair in front of Miranda's desk and crossed her legs, settling in.

Barely looking up from her work Miranda greeted her commanding officer, "Is there something I can do for you Commander? I thought you'd already be drinking Jacob to the floor."

"I take it you won't be joining us?" Shepard said wondering how many hours of the day the woman in front of her spent at her terminal doing 'important' work for the Illusive Man. Shepard hardly saw the biotic outside of her cabin and that was only when she was out on a mission or mess hall grabbing some food.

Finally Miranda stopped what she was doing and looked at the commander, "This mission is too important, I can't afford to get distracted."

"None of us can, Miranda. That's why you need to relax a little. You work too hard." Miranda shook her head. "I have to do this, we need to be prepared... I'm working on gathering some intel that could help us get what we need to go through the Omega 4 relay."

It's not as though that Miranda didn't have faith in Shepard, she just believed that the more knowledge they had the better. She had learned long ago that her commander was more than capable. At first she had her doubts, billions of credits into resurrecting a dead Alliance marine, even if that woman was a hero, and the savior of the Citadel, it was just a little hard to swallow, but after seeing Shepard in action she was almost convinced it was worth it. It was wholly possible that Shepard would actually pull this off but needless to say their methods were different. If Miranda were in charge, well instead of the impromptu break they were having she would have had all the crew prepping instead of goofing around the Citadel. But there was a reason the Illusive Man put Shepard in charge and not her.

"Don't trust your commander to keep you safe?" Shepard responded teasingly.

Ignoring the commander's small attempt to poke fun at her she replied coolly, "This is unlike anything you've faced before. I'd be more worried if I were you."

Shepard crossed her arms, all amusement gone from her face. "I know what's at stake Lawson. Don't mistake my actions as apathy."

She didn't like the other biotic questioning her motives. It always seemed like they were at odds with each other. The commander brought Miranda with her on a good amount of missions. Their abilities and fighting style complemented each other, Miranda was always on top of her game which made Shepard's job a lot easier. She didn't have to direct everyone and worry about their strategy as much. It was like an unspoken team plan that worked itself out most of the time. Not to mention, it was beneficial to have a high ranking Cerberus Officer on the team to provide valuable information not otherwise accessible. However it wasn't to say that their personalities particularly meshed well. Somehow when it came down to the big decision making, they always clashed. At times when Shepard had been too harsh or reckless, Miranda would chastise her brashness, and when at times when Shepard had been empathetic Miranda would comment on how she needed to be more forceful.

"That's not what I meant," Miranda replied defensively, not going into the topic any further. They sat their in silence for a few moments past acceptable and into uncomfortable. Shepard only furrowed her eyebrows in response.

It seemed fruitless to try and talk to Miranda and Shepard wasn't going to push it. The workaholic seemed like she was wound up too tight, at least now more than her usual self. If anyone needed a little R & R it was her, but telling the stubborn woman that would have most likely made the situation worse. "Miranda, these next few days may be the last days we have to ourselves, but I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing," Shepard loosly gestured to the terminal. "Have a nice night Miranda, if you need me you know where to find me."

Miranda sighed and went back to the file she was working on before Shepard had interrupted. Except now she had a harder time focusing. She hated that she let the commander get to her, it was frustrating. She had sat there for at least half an hour getting very little done. Of course Shepard was right, if this was the end, and it very well could be she wouldn't want it being spent on her terminal, alone. To be honest her work was fruitless, it was hard to really determine what they were up against. They would have to go through the relay to truly find out. The biotic sighed and signed off of her terminal. Miranda hated the effect that woman had, not just on her but on everyone she came into contact with. Shepard wasn't charming by any means, if anything she was rough, bullheaded, and sometimes slightly psychotic it was like the woman's mood was extremely unstable (at first Miranda was worried that Project Lazarus had made an error during reconstruction but upon further investigation learned it was normal and characteristic of the commander to act that way), but it worked well for her. The commander was unpredictable, at times Miranda wasn't sure if she was going to punch the next guy who looked at her funny or hug him.

The biotic looked at her bed, it called to her. She was mentally exhausted but she doubted her ability to fall asleep, and it was still early.


End file.
